First Drive: 2008 BMW 1 Series Convertible

Room for another ragtop in the family?

U.S. auto buyers are used to downsizing. It came in the mid-1970s after the first oil shock, and it's back again right now with the shift from SUVs to crossovers. But in Europe it's pretty much an alien concept. For decades they've run a simple size escalator. Every model gets slightly bigger with each successive generation. That way, every buyer, on replacing his car with the same nameplate, progresses through life in a series of bigger, richer, pricier automobiles. Then after about three generations, there's room to slot in a fresh one at the bottom.So behold the BMW 1 Series, a car that kind of does the job of (deep breath) the 3 Series before the 3 Series before today's 3 Series.

BMW product planners are a careful lot. They've proliferated their range into endless new niches and size subdivisions, but they make sure, by manipulation of intro timings as well as actual vehicle characteristics, that the market doesn't get confused.

So despite the fact that a 1 Series four-door hatchback has been on sale in Germany since mid-2004-and indeed the fact that the drop-top was shown as a concept in March 2002-the Convertible has taken until now to show up. The reason: to make sure it doesn't cannibalize the 3 Series Convertible. After all, buyers now know the 3 Series Convertible has gone up another clothing size, and in the process has become more sophisticated in all sorts of ways including the trading of its canvas roof for a folding hardtop mechanism. It's also a lot more expensive. So now there's clear blue space below the 3 in the lineup.

The 1 Series, designer Kevin Rice tells us, has the biggest headlamps in the entire BMW range. Big eyes on a little face serve to emphasize the smallness of the 1 Series. So do the exaggerated creases of its sheetmetal, especially the banana-shaped crease above the sills and the sharp collarbone running the length of the car above the door handles. This is a self-parody BMW. An over-obviously BMW for youngish buyers who couldn't afford one before but now can-at least if they show self-restraint whenever they find themselves in the vicinity of the options list.

The 1 Series Convertible is closely modeled on the new-to-USA 1 Series coupe. Where the 3 Series Convertible is always sleeker than its corresponding sedan, in the case of the 1-series the Coupe and Convertible use the front fenders and doors of the two-door hatchback model not sold in the States. And being based on a hatchback means the Convertible has high-sided bathtub proportions: deep-bodied, upright, with very little wedge in the profile. For the driver and front-seat passenger this means a rather elevated driving position, but at least the high sides of the car make you feel well protected.

The relatively vertical windshield emphasizes the impression you're in an open car, since the windshield's top-rail is some distance ahead of you, so you see sky in your peripheral vision. Even with all four side windows rolled up, the cockpit is blustery at freeway speed unless the wind deflector screen is erected, which rules out carrying rear passengers. Two-seat roadsters such as BMW's own Z4 have far better-resolved cockpit aerodynamics.

And while the 1 Series Convertible's canvas roof is nicely finished, it generates a hiss of wind noise that would be absent in the Coupe. At least, because it's a fabric roof rather than a rigid folder, it doesn't swallow too much trunk space and BMW claims two sets of golf clubs can go in the trunk. You can order a special canvas with metallic fibers, which adds a 3D glimmer in sunlight. Oh, and the top's power mechanism is stout enough to face a headwind: The open/close switch continues to function at up to 31 mph. Other special convertible touches include a bespoke climate-control program for the times when the top is down and heat-reflecting treatment to the optional leather seats which keeps surface temperatures down in direct sunlight. Short-pant wearers, avoid singed-leg-hair misery!

The test car, driven in Europe, is a 3.0-liter making 230 horsepower. The Euro version we drove says 125i on the trunk, but the same machine will go on sale in the U.S. wearing 128i badges. If you thought BMW's badging structure was simple, consider this. The 128i has, to be pedantically exact, a 2996cc straight-six. The other model in the range gets a straight-six of 2979 cc with different bore and stroke from the 128i and a pair of turbos and direct gas injection for a marvelous 300 horsepower. That's badged 135i. Huh?

But anyway. The 128i's engine goes and sounds like a classic BMW unit, but thanks to a lot of magnesium in its construction it's extremely light. Goes pretty hard too, as at 3330 pounds its curb weight is just 250 pounds heavier than the coupe's. The six-speed manual we drove felt well able to match BMW's claimed figure of 6.8 seconds for zero to 62 mph. Fuel-saving features include an alternator that normally cuts in only on the overrun, radiator blinds that open for airflow only when required, and electric power steering. Valvetronic makes the engine fundamentally efficient, but like all units with that complicated cam gear you pay for it with a slightly soft throttle-pedal response. I suspect the auto version would be better. Smooth gearshifts on the manual are hampered by a clutch with an imprecise biting point, and in any case the ratios are tall and widely spread. Ah, well, that all harmonizes with the slightly relaxed, cruiser nature of the car. The 128i Convertible is in no respect the sharpest tool in BMW's box.

The test car also had Active Steering. As usual with BMWs so fitted, urban junctions are easily negotiated thanks to the fast ratio at slow speeds, and freeway driving is more relaxing and sneeze-tolerant because at speed the ratio becomes slower. But, oh, boy, you pay a price. The steering's road feel and precision through mid-speed bends is unpleasant and greasy. Factor in the inevitable rubberiness brought about by the small-scale shimmy of a convertible body, and again it's clear as daylight that this isn't the BMW you'd select for chasing through mountain passes. And yet, underneath all that, the usual attributes apply: This car does possess superbly faithful handling when you transgress the limits.

Rolling on relatively tall-profile 205/50R17 tires certainly helps the ride. It's quite a supple little car over bad surfaces, though even quite small lumps and bumps will excite those high-frequency flex resonances any four-seat cabrio suffers. And this one suffers less than most, actually.

But, no, if you want an open-air sporting car, BMW's own Z4 does a far, far better job. But that doesn't have the two seats behind. They may not be big seats, but they do offer an air of practicality that buyers obviously cherish. That's why BMW thinks it's worth having both the 1 Series and the 3 Series Convertibles in the range. The 1 Series isn't only the cheaper of the pair, it might be the more fashionable. Small, jewellike cars are just so 2008.